Update on Blocked Cat

Phil P. wrote:
"Hopitus" wrote in message
...
Hey, I'm not getting into the food arguments....but I'm curious
about
something: when my male cats got blocked (long time ago, in 80's
and 90's)
vets in s.FL did some kinda surgery that (not to get obscene here)
actually
"made him a girl" and forever made blockage extremely
unlikely....former
boycats peed like girls after the whole thing (I personally never
understood
what this surgery consisted of,


The procedure is called 'perineal urethrotomy'. It goes something
like
this: While the cat is under anesthesia, the penis, scrotum, and
testicles
(if the cat hasn'tt been neutered), are dissected free. The scrotal
skin and
prepuce are removed to free and expose the penis. The muscles that
hold the
penis to the pelvic bones are cut, allowing the penis to be pulled
outside
of the body more than usual. The penis is split along the urethra
until the
widest part of the urethra is opened. Then, the opened urethra is
delicately
sutured to the skin, part of the penis removed, and all skin edges
closed.
Done right, the cat is now something of an anatomical female with a
wide
urethral opening too big to become obstructed again.

I've watched this surgery a couple of times- and still get the chills
thinking about it! Actually, it sounds worse to us than it actually
is for
the cat. PU should be performed only as a last resort.

Phil


Gah. Isn't there a lot of post-op pain for the poor thing? It sounds
like it.
OT note: I got to help with a dog spay. Well, mostly just watch, it was
after hours & He was spaying his neighbor's dog. It was the most
amazing thing I ever saw. Hardly any blood, nothing like what I
expected. But it was good for me to watch--I was the one who always
complained that the vets were too high on their s/n prices. Truth is,
it was much more involved than I ever thought and took a lot of the
vet's time.

Sherry

John Ross Mc Master wrote:
On Sat, 14 May 2005 18:55:33 -0400, "Phil P."
wrote:


"John Ross Mc Master" wrote in message

The cause of the blockage is the cat's body's inabilty to handle
ash
(magnesium and the like) in food.

There is no 'ash' in cat food- 'ash' is an analysis of the mineral
content-
not an ingredient- that's why its listed in the Guaranteed Analysis
and not
in the ingredients list. "Ash" is determined by burning an aliquot
of the
diet for 2 hours at 600*C and weighing the residue. "Ash" is
actually all
the noncombustible components of the diet- which includes most of
the
mineral content- without regard to any specific element. The 'ash'
analysis
does not correlate to the magnesium content of the diet.

Also, struvite is a function of urine pH not magnesium. At urine pH
of 6.1
or less struvite won't form regardless of the amount of magnesium in
the
diet. Magnesium content becomes important only when urine pH rises
above
6.2. Urine pH determines *if* struvite will form; the magnesium
content
determines *how much* struvite will form.

Phil

My vet once told me to get low ash magnesium restricted cat food for
a
male cat who had a urinary tract blockage operation. I think I'll
trust the vet and not you.

Coming in late on this thread--but I just wanted to say, please don't
make the same mistake I did, in thinking "DVM" means they're
automatically the all-knowing, failproof savior of your cat's health.
Vets make mistakes. And there are good vets, and bad vets. Some vets
are very knowledgeable livestock, dogs, but not cats. And some
don't know squat **** about nutrition.
Cropping a long story short that I've told too many times already, my
cat would have died if it hadn't been for Phil convincing me the "cow
vet" (that's one of the nicer adjectives he used) was killing my cat. I
actually printed out the e-mails Phil sent, and took them to another
vet to see what he'd say. I actually learned more in that vet visit
than I ever had. I was too passive about the cat's care before.
You don't have to take Phil's word, or Megan's, or anybody's here, as
the gospel either. But use it to arm yourself with questions for YOUR
vet. Take the knowledge you can glean here, and further research
YOURSELF.
Don't be so close-minded about anonymous laymen cat people that you
blow off what he's saying. Try to *prove* him wrong by research. I
think you'll be surprised, and your cat will benefit.

Sherry

Morons! Morons!
Each and every one!

Morons! Morons!
Killing all the fun!

Nasty little bitches!
A coven of crazed witches!
They give me The Rash!
Go and get The Lash!

Beat them, bite them, throw them up a tree!
Then the board will again be pure..

And we'll be moron-free!

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

wrote in message
oups.com...

John Ross Mc Master wrote:
On Sat, 14 May 2005 18:55:33 -0400, "Phil P."
wrote:


"John Ross Mc Master" wrote in message

The cause of the blockage is the cat's body's inabilty to handle
ash
(magnesium and the like) in food.

There is no 'ash' in cat food- 'ash' is an analysis of the mineral
content-
not an ingredient- that's why its listed in the Guaranteed Analysis
and not
in the ingredients list. "Ash" is determined by burning an aliquot
of the
diet for 2 hours at 600*C and weighing the residue. "Ash" is
actually all
the noncombustible components of the diet- which includes most of
the
mineral content- without regard to any specific element. The 'ash'
analysis
does not correlate to the magnesium content of the diet.

Also, struvite is a function of urine pH not magnesium. At urine pH
of 6.1
or less struvite won't form regardless of the amount of magnesium in
the
diet. Magnesium content becomes important only when urine pH rises
above
6.2. Urine pH determines *if* struvite will form; the magnesium
content
determines *how much* struvite will form.

Phil

My vet once told me to get low ash magnesium restricted cat food for
a
male cat who had a urinary tract blockage operation. I think I'll
trust the vet and not you.

Coming in late on this thread--but I just wanted to say, please don't
make the same mistake I did, in thinking "DVM" means they're
automatically the all-knowing, failproof savior of your cat's health.
Vets make mistakes. And there are good vets, and bad vets. Some vets
are very knowledgeable livestock, dogs, but not cats. And some
don't know squat **** about nutrition.
Cropping a long story short that I've told too many times already, my
cat would have died if it hadn't been for Phil convincing me the "cow
vet" (that's one of the nicer adjectives he used) was killing my cat. I
actually printed out the e-mails Phil sent, and took them to another
vet to see what he'd say. I actually learned more in that vet visit
than I ever had. I was too passive about the cat's care before.
You don't have to take Phil's word, or Megan's, or anybody's here, as
the gospel either. But use it to arm yourself with questions for YOUR
vet. Take the knowledge you can glean here, and further research
YOURSELF.

Nicely put. That is what this place is for, and the arguments, though
some are *cough* more helpful than others, actually help because the
reasons for the advice/opinions come out and can be examined. This is
a DISCUSSION forum, and that is what discussion is for. Granted you
have to get around a few "Megan you ignorant slut" s. Heh. With apologies
to Saturday Night Live.


Don't be so close-minded about anonymous laymen cat people that you
blow off what he's saying. Try to *prove* him wrong by research. I
think you'll be surprised, and your cat will benefit.


Amen.

"The Poet via CatKB.com" wrote in message
...
Morons! Morons!
Each and every one!

Morons! Morons!
Killing all the fun!

Nasty little bitches!
A coven of crazed witches!
They give me The Rash!
Go and get The Lash!

Beat them, bite them, throw them up a tree!
Then the board will again be pure..

And we'll be moron-free!

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

Very nicely done.

wrote in message
ups.com...

Phil P. wrote:
"Hopitus" wrote in message
...
Hey, I'm not getting into the food arguments....but I'm curious
about
something: when my male cats got blocked (long time ago, in 80's
and 90's)
vets in s.FL did some kinda surgery that (not to get obscene here)
actually
"made him a girl" and forever made blockage extremely
unlikely....former
boycats peed like girls after the whole thing (I personally never
understood
what this surgery consisted of,


The procedure is called 'perineal urethrotomy'. It goes something
like
this: While the cat is under anesthesia, the penis, scrotum, and
testicles
(if the cat hasn'tt been neutered), are dissected free. The scrotal
skin and
prepuce are removed to free and expose the penis. The muscles that
hold the
penis to the pelvic bones are cut, allowing the penis to be pulled
outside
of the body more than usual. The penis is split along the urethra
until the
widest part of the urethra is opened. Then, the opened urethra is
delicately
sutured to the skin, part of the penis removed, and all skin edges
closed.
Done right, the cat is now something of an anatomical female with a
wide
urethral opening too big to become obstructed again.

I've watched this surgery a couple of times- and still get the chills
thinking about it! Actually, it sounds worse to us than it actually
is for
the cat. PU should be performed only as a last resort.

Phil


Gah. Isn't there a lot of post-op pain for the poor thing?


Post-op pain management isn't optional with our vets- its mandatory. But as
hard as it may be to believe, cats handle the procedure very well- a helluva
lot better than I would!!!

Urethrostomized males are more susceptible to UTIs- because although they
may anatomically similar to a female, they don't have the same host defense
mechanisms-- ascending infections literally crawl up from outside. A PU is
definitely a last-choice procedure.


It sounds
like it.
OT note: I got to help with a dog spay. Well, mostly just watch, it was
after hours & He was spaying his neighbor's dog. It was the most
amazing thing I ever saw. Hardly any blood, nothing like what I
expected.

Canine OHE are much more difficult than feline. Watch a feline OHE if you
get a chance- watching one will make you feel a lot better about the
procedure.



But it was good for me to watch--I was the one who always
complained that the vets were too high on their s/n prices. Truth is,
it was much more involved than I ever thought and took a lot of the
vet's time.

Many people don't seem to realize that an ovariohysterectomy is a major
abdominal surgery-- the removal of major organs-- and that many vets
subsidize the procedure themselves. I never heard of any other abdominal
surgery costing $100-200-- including anesthesia.

Phil

wrote:
OT note: I got to help with a dog spay. Well, mostly just watch, it
was
after hours & He was spaying his neighbor's dog. It was the most
amazing thing I ever saw. Hardly any blood, nothing like what I
expected. But it was good for me to watch--I was the one who always
complained that the vets were too high on their s/n prices. Truth is,
it was much more involved than I ever thought and took a lot of the
vet's time.

Sherry


Cat spays don't, particularly if they are young. Usually only take two
stitches, too.

-L.

Well, those two cats I had that had that surgery in Miami
(I had no idea it was "last-ditch" surgery) didn't seem to
be in great pain of any kind....I think they laid around for a couple days,
primarily recovering from anesthesia I
thought @ the time. They were so glad, and I was so glad, to see them peeing
while squatting I would say the
prevailing emotion @ the time (separately) was big relief.


"Phil P." wrote in message
ink.net...

wrote in message
ups.com...

Phil P. wrote:
"Hopitus" wrote in message
...
Hey, I'm not getting into the food arguments....but I'm curious
about
something: when my male cats got blocked (long time ago, in 80's
and 90's)
vets in s.FL did some kinda surgery that (not to get obscene here)
actually
"made him a girl" and forever made blockage extremely
unlikely....former
boycats peed like girls after the whole thing (I personally never
understood
what this surgery consisted of,


The procedure is called 'perineal urethrotomy'. It goes something
like
this: While the cat is under anesthesia, the penis, scrotum, and
testicles
(if the cat hasn'tt been neutered), are dissected free. The scrotal
skin and
prepuce are removed to free and expose the penis. The muscles that
hold the
penis to the pelvic bones are cut, allowing the penis to be pulled
outside
of the body more than usual. The penis is split along the urethra
until the
widest part of the urethra is opened. Then, the opened urethra is
delicately
sutured to the skin, part of the penis removed, and all skin edges
closed.
Done right, the cat is now something of an anatomical female with a
wide
urethral opening too big to become obstructed again.

I've watched this surgery a couple of times- and still get the chills
thinking about it! Actually, it sounds worse to us than it actually
is for
the cat. PU should be performed only as a last resort.

Phil


Gah. Isn't there a lot of post-op pain for the poor thing?


Post-op pain management isn't optional with our vets- its mandatory. But
as
hard as it may be to believe, cats handle the procedure very well- a
helluva
lot better than I would!!!

Urethrostomized males are more susceptible to UTIs- because although they
may anatomically similar to a female, they don't have the same host
defense
mechanisms-- ascending infections literally crawl up from outside. A PU is
definitely a last-choice procedure.


It sounds
like it.
OT note: I got to help with a dog spay. Well, mostly just watch, it was
after hours & He was spaying his neighbor's dog. It was the most
amazing thing I ever saw. Hardly any blood, nothing like what I
expected.

Canine OHE are much more difficult than feline. Watch a feline OHE if you
get a chance- watching one will make you feel a lot better about the
procedure.



But it was good for me to watch--I was the one who always
complained that the vets were too high on their s/n prices. Truth is,
it was much more involved than I ever thought and took a lot of the
vet's time.

Many people don't seem to realize that an ovariohysterectomy is a major
abdominal surgery-- the removal of major organs-- and that many vets
subsidize the procedure themselves. I never heard of any other abdominal
surgery costing $100-200-- including anesthesia.

Phil

"Hopitus" wrote in message
...
Well, those two cats I had that had that surgery in Miami
(I had no idea it was "last-ditch" surgery) didn't seem to
be in great pain of any kind....I think they laid around for a couple
days,
primarily recovering from anesthesia I
thought @ the time. They were so glad, and I was so glad, to see them
peeing
while squatting I would say the
prevailing emotion @ the time (separately) was big relief.


Sure, the cats were relieved! Urinary tract blockages are very painful and
potentially fatal and also psychologically traumatizing because the cat
doesn't understand what's happening. Personally, I think a PU is more
humane than subjecting a cat to more than 2 catheterizations and the pain of
blockage. Catheterization can also damage the urethra.

Phil

On Tue, 17 May 2005 12:06:55 -0400, "Mary" wrote:





Just goes to show you that anyone, even a flaming asshole, can
have a decent sig.



Mary........Mary Mary........is that any way to treat someone you are
having a relationship with.......cmon now and teaming up with Fill of
all people.....my god.......although if I wasn't so heads over heels
about you I think you and Fill might make a good pair.......except for
Fill shows some feminine aspects........I'm waiting for him to come
out of the closet but he's not really with it.....still in the
closet.....ya know what I mean......


Brad

LIFE'S JOURNEY IS NOT TO ARRIVE AT THE GRAVE SAFELY IN A
WELL-PRESERVED BODY, BUT RATHER TO SKID IN SIDEWAYS, TOTALLY WORN OUT,
SHOUTING... " HOLY @#$%... WHAT A RIDE!"